Napkin-holder.



0. E. SMITH. NAPKIN HOLDER.

APPLICATION FILED OUT-17,1908.

Patented Jan. 19,1909.

WITNESSES one CHARLES E. FMITH. OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY.

NAPKINHOLDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 19, 1909.

Application filed October 17, 1908. Serial No. 458,310.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, Cnxnnns E. Snrrn, a citizen of the United States,residing in Pat erson, lassaic county, New Jersey have invented acertain new and useful improvement in Napkin-.liolders; and i do hereby-h clare the following to be a :l'ull, clear, and exact description 01the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked lhcreon, whichform a part of this specifica- U011.

The object of this my present invention is to provide, in a simple andcompact mechanism, a means for holding napkins which shall be soconstructed as to keep the napkins neatly folded in compact arrangementand protected against general exposure and handling, while permittingthe tree removal of the napkins only one at a time.

In carrying out my invention 1 have had in mind to adapt it particularlyfor use on rcstaurant counters and the like, and as adapted for thispurpose it has been so shown in the accompanying drawing, beingprovided, for instance, with auxiliary holdem for pepper, salt, vinegarand other condiment and similar receptacles; but it will be understoodthat the essential and novel features of the invention may be employedwith or without such auxiliary holding means and not necessarily in theprecise arrangement and construction of the parts herein described andshown for the purpose of illustration.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 shows the invention as seen fromthe rear of a counter and mainly in vertical section; Fig. 2 is a backview, partly in section; Fig. 3 is a plan view of the top or cover; and,Fig. at is a horizontal sectional View just above the auxiliary holders.

1:. in the dra ing designates a counter top. in the adaptation shownthis has a vertical hole a formed there'lhrough to receive a tubularstem projecting dowmvardly from and screwed into or otherwise rigidlyscd in the bottom wall of a base (Z.

.19 base 03 has an opening 6, preferably rectangular in crosssc'ction,extending down into the same; said base will usually be cast in tal.into the opening e is fitted the lower end of a cross-sectionallyrectangular holder also oi metal, open at the top. A cover 9 is sccurcd[U the holder j preferably in the nnznncr to be described, so that itmay be readily removed, if necessary, and this cover has a cirrularopening /1. formed centrally lhcrein.

plunger 2 carried by a stem is arranged to move vertically in the holderf, its stem extending down through the tubular stem 1: of the base (Z.The plunger is normally forced upwardly preferably by the followingmechanism: By means of a nut 7i: screwed onto the lower protruding endof stem w, a plate Z is clamped against the under side of thecounter-top a, this plate has its end portions turned downwardly and itsextremities bent back, as al. m, in embracing re lalion to hearing pins11. on which are journalcd pcriphcrally grooved pulleys o. theextremities being bifurcated, as at I (Fig. 2). to receive the pulleys.A headed stud q projects from the lower cud of the stem and under thisextends a cord or other flexible device 1' whose extremities extend overthe pulleys 0 and are attached to eyes 8 on a weight Z, the weight beingformed with a vertical hole It permitting the stem to descend when theweight rises.

The napkins v are introduced, preferably through the opening Ii, beingusually first folded diametrically twice; they are placed in, aconrcnicnt number at a time, until the holder 7' is filled, and as theyare introduced it will be understood that the plunger is pressed down,causinglhe weight If to rise. The napkins, it will be observed, are heldagainst being ejected by the plunger under the action of the weight bythe fact that they are not only of greater dimension than the opening itbut are square, whereas the hole IL is circular. Only one napkin, andbut a limited portion of that one, is therefore exposed at a time, andthis, the topmost napkin, may be easily removed by grasping it at theopening it and withdrawing it.

I t will be observed on reference to Fig. 1 that the cover 9' has theunder or interior edge of its opening it cut away, as at h. I have:found in practice that Where the edge is not cut away in the mannershown or its equivalent it is not only more diflicult to remove thenapkins but the napkins are un duly creased and likely to become torn,especially if they are made of paper or the like. Furthermore, thiscutting away of the interior edge of the opening it produces a bulgingup 01 the topmost napkin so that a hold on it can be elfected inremoving it; I have found that by this expedient only can the napkins beconveniently removed, since otherwise the top napkin is held so fiat andin such close contact with the next subjacent napkin that a person islikely to remove the napkins two or more at time, instead of one at atime, as intended.

Usually, the holder is filled in the manner above described; but, forthe purpose of re pairs, and also. under certain conditions in refillingthe holder, the cover 9 may be removable. To this end the cover 9 has atone side a down vardly extending flange w provided with inwardlyprojecting lip 00,- this lip interlocks with an integral shoulder ;zformed on the corresponding outer side of the holder at the top thereof.Opposite the flange w the cover 9 has a downwardly project-ing flange .2formed with a groove 1 on the inside thereof. The flange .2 below thegroove has on the inside thereof notches 2- leading to the groove; italso has a notch 3 to receive the downwardly projecting handle portion 4of a bolt 5 arranged to slide between the flange and the holder f andprovided with lugs 6 projecting into the groove. The bolt, in the lockedposition of the parts, bears upwardly against lugs 7 on the holder f andso long as the lugs 6 do not register with the notches Q the cover islocked down; but on moving the bolt laterally the lugs 6 will registerwith the notches 2, so that the cover will be released by the bolt andmay be raised. By arranging the locking means for the cover in themanner described the outward neat appearance of the device is preserved,while the bolt is substantially concealed and protected againstaccidental or unauthorized actuation.

I prefer to attach auxiliary holders 8 and 9 to the holder f to receivesalt and pepper shakers, vinegar cruets and the like, matches, toothpicks, etc.

Havin thus fully described my invention, what I c aim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination of a container member having an opening in one wallthereof, means for pressing the articles inclosed in said membernormally toward said opening, comprising a plunger having a stem, asuitable support, a hollow stem projecting from the container member andpenetrating the support, said plunger stem penetrating the hollow stem,and means on the hollow stem for securing the container member on thesupport, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a container member having an opening in one wallthereof, a plunger arranged in said container member and movable towardsaid opening, said plunger having a stem, a suitable support, a hollowstem carried by said container member and penetrating the support, saidp'luir ger stem penetrating the hollow stem, means, on the hollow stem,for securing the container to the support, a weight, a flexible devicecarrying the weight and engaging the plunger stem and guiding means forthe flexible device arranged on the hollow stem, substantially asdescribed.

3. The combination, with a suitable support, of a container memberresting against the same, said member'having an opening in the wallthereof opposite said support of less diameter in one dimension thereofthan the corresponding inside dimension of said memher, a. plungermovable in said member toward and from the opening and having a stem, aweight, and a flexible device carrying the weight and engaging said stemand the support, substantially as described.

L. The combination of the holder member, an apertured cover membertherefor, said cover and holder members having disengageableinterlocking portions, and a bolt having projections and movable in oneof said members parallel to the plane of their meeting faces, the othermember having ft notched portion engageable by the bolt, substantiallyas described.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing, I have hereunto set my handthis 16th day of October, 1908.

C. E. SMITH.

il itnesses lVM. D. BELL, Ersm KAUFMANN.

